Adias polow a ground rice and lental dish it is a common food among ancient persians. It can be made with lamb or without lamb. It is used to celebrate the persian new year. basil, cilantro, cumin and caraway in their food in 4,000 BC. Apricots, artichokes, eggplants, lemons, lime, oranges, pistachios, spinach, saffron or tarragon all came to Europe through Persia. Other condiments and spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, coriander, dill, nutmeg, paprika, pomegranates, saffron, sumac, turmeric, as well as orange-flower water and rose water were used in Persian food. Lamb and goat were the primary meats eaten by persians. In Persepolis the book doesn't really talk about the types of food that are in Iran because Marjane was trying to focus on the revolt aganst the shah and the war versus Iraq.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/adas-polow-persian-rice-and-lentils/
http://saffron.com/cons_guide.html